Brain Pressure (due to IIH) may cause vision loss in men

Brain pressure is a condition that is more common in the women, but a U.S. study finds that men are more likely than women to have vision loss because of increased pressure in the brain.

This condition of increased pressure in the brain is known as Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) and people with this condition have an increased cerebrospinal fluid pressure that leads to severe headaches, swelling of the optic nerves, whooshing noise in the ears, double vision and vision loss. This condition is quite common in women and it affects almost one out of 5,000 people.

Dr. Beau Bruce (from Emory University, Atlanta) and his team looked at the medical records of 721 people that had IIH. Among them only 9 percent patients were male, however, they were as much as twice more likely than female to have intense vision problems in their both or one eye.

In an American Academy of Neurology news release, Bruce said: “IIH often occurs in women and sometimes in men, but in men the frequency of occurring severe vision loss is higher enough than in women.”

“Men with such condition should be more careful of their eyesight and should also be treated more aggressively when there is evidence of vision loss.” Bruce adds.

Similarly, the researchers also noted that men with IIH had higher chances to have sleep apnea than women. According to the researchers, more studies are needed to find link between IIH and sleep apnea.